Innovative? Maybe; Worth it? Hmmm

The 2013 version of “Revenge of the Nerds” was staged in Las Vegas this week and from what I’ve been reading, those in know seem to be underwhelmed.

I’m talking about the Consumer Electronics Show, of course, which annually merges the sharpest scientific minds in the product-development departments at places like Samsung and Sony, with the folks down the hall in marketing, whose main concern may be to find the girls with the best-looking legs to display those products.

The results are showcase booths filled with televisions, computers, cell phones, and all sorts of clever, electronic gadgets and gizmos. And apparently the emphasis this year wasn’t so much on ingenuity as much as it was on bigger and better.

For instance, if you forked out a bunch of C-notes on a new High Definition TV last year, you may have wasted your money. They’ll soon be replaced by Ultra High Definition, with some home versions measuring as much as 110 inches.

At my house, my old fat, 19-incher and I are having a contest about who’s going to die first ---- me or it. I think I’m winning. The top third of the picture is now all squiggly, which only helps when I can’t read the little box that tells me how bad the Lakers are losing.

So, I’m looking forward to replacing it soon and the way the industry’s going, that new one will be something that covers an entire wall. I can call it the Jimbo JumboTron. I’ll need one of those extra-wide squeegees to clean it, of course, if not an entire cleaning crew.

Among the other innovations introduced at the show was a toothbrush that plays Justin Bieber or Lady Gaga while your kids are polishing up those pearlies. That’s right, get those young ones all popped up at bedtime so it’ll take them an extra hour to get to sleep. Heads up, parents, for your own sanity don’t buy those brushes unless they come with headphones.

Another new item is the Goal Zero Solar Powered Yeti 150. Basically, it’s a hand-held generator that’s fully-charged after exposure to 20 hours of sunlight.

It seems a good idea but 20 hours of sun is a fairly tall order, unless you live on the North or South Pole during certain times of the year where the sun may actually shine for 20 hours. I haven’t heard of too many power plants built in those regions so maybe next year we’ll hear about portable heaters for penguins and polar bears powered by the Yeti 150.

And cheer up all you clumsy-fingered or absent-mind people who’ve ever dropped your cell phone in a toilet or washing machine. Help is on the way.

Sony has created the Xperia Z, which is a water-resistant smart phone with a five-inch screen. For the scientifically-inclined, it has a 13-megapixel camera and works on 4G.

Does that mean it still works after long exposure to extreme cold? A friend back in New Jersey has twice lost her cell phone in the past year, only to find it in her refrigerator. Don’t ask. You have to know her to understand how that happens.

Among the other items unveiled in Vegas were a weight-watching fork which not only measures your food intake but also how fast you take it. There also was a plant monitor, which every 15 minutes measures how much sunlight your plants are getting and their current, underground water level. Now how useful is that?

It all adds up to more ways to burn your hard-earned money, which is what this free enterprise system is all about, I guess. And no matter how good these electronic inventions are, if they have a marketing department attached, well, you get the 110-inche picture. Those best-looking legs don’t come cheap.

If you know of an idea or someone that would make a good column, contact Jim Rothgeb at (951) 676-4315, ext. 2621, or jrothgeb@californian.com